1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a diffuser for an aeration system, and more particularly to a diffuser which allows gas introduced in the aeration system to form small and fine bubbles, so as to increase the concentration of a gas, such as oxygen, that is dissolved in a water pool equipped with the aeration system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to establish an aerobic condition commonly used in the treatment of wastewater or sewage, or in the cultivation of biological materials in water pools, an aeration system is employed to increase the oxygen concentration in water.
An aeration system includes a plurality of diffusers adapted to be provided on the bottom of a water pool, conduits connected to the plurality of diffusers, and a blower forcing air to flow into the conduits and to pass through the slits provided in the diffusers, so as form bubbles in the water pool.
A conventional diffuser disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,688 comprises a disk-shaped membrane diffuser made of an elastomeric material and provided with a plurality of slits, which are spaced apart from each other and arranged circularly, to allow the passage of air therethrough to form bubbles in a water pool. The elastomeric material for the conventional membrane diffuser is generally a synthetic rubber, such as ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) rubber. In order to increase the concentration of the dissolved gas in the water, the slits of the membrane diffuser are made as small as possible and are provided at a density that is as high as possible. However, since the elastomeric material is tough, limits are encountered with respect to how small the slits can be made and to how high the density of the slits of the elastomeric membrane diffuser can be provided. The slits of the membrane diffuser of the conventional diffuser are generally millimeter-sized.